Why Brisbane homes get dirty faster
Brisbane is subtropical: warm, wet summers and mild winters with heavy dew. Mould, algae and lichen love it. Any wall that stays damp for part of the day, which in the southern hemisphere means the south and east sides, will grow a green or black film within a season or two. Add tree cover, a bayside breeze carrying salt, or a textured render that holds moisture, and it happens faster still.
The sensible baseline: once a year
For most Brisbane homes an annual soft wash keeps the exterior looking the way it should and stops growth getting established in paint and render, where it is harder to remove and starts to degrade the finish. A house that is washed every year is a quick job each time. A house that is washed every five years is a restoration.
What pushes it to more often
- Shade and trees. Western suburbs like Kenmore, Chapel Hill and The Gap, the Samford valley and acreage anywhere: walls under tree cover never fully dry. Expect growth back sooner on the shaded sides.
- Salt air. Wynnum, Manly, Sandgate, the Redcliffe peninsula and the Redlands collect salt on glass, render and Colorbond. The windows in particular benefit from more frequent cleaning.
- Textured render. Render holds moisture in its texture and shows black streaks under windows and along the shaded side early, especially on newer estate homes.
- Light colours. White and pale walls show everything first.
- Main roads. Traffic dust settles on homes along the motorway corridors and main roads.
What lets it stretch
A north facing, sun exposed brick home with no trees nearby can comfortably go longer between washes. So can a home that has had a proper soft wash, because the growth was killed rather than rinsed, and one that has had a residual biocide treatment on its worst walls.
Signs it is due now
- Green or black film on the south or east walls, under eaves or along the bottom of the wall.
- Black streaks running down render from the window sills or under the gutters.
- Moss, lichen or dark streaks on the roof tiles, or in the valleys and on the shaded slope.
- Cobwebs, dust and dead insects in the eaves and around the lights.
- Windows that look clean from inside and dull from the street.
When in the year
Any time works, and there are two good moments. Late winter or spring, before storm season, so the gutters are clear and the house is clean going into the wet; and autumn, after the wet season has done its worst. If you are selling, the wash goes in a week or two before the photographs.
Do the roof and gutters at the same time
Gutters full of leaves keep water sitting against the fascia and running down the walls. A roof carrying moss and lichen sheds it onto clean walls in the next storm. The order that works is gutters first, then the roof, then the house, which is how the Dript Premium Roof Package runs, with the house wash finishing the walls.
The Dript regrowth warranty
A soft wash kills the growth at the root, which is why it stays cleaner for longer, and why every Dript house and roof wash carries a 12 month regrowth warranty. If mould, algae or moss comes back within 12 months, we return and treat it again at no cost.